The City Patrol Guards were highly skilled. In just over ten minutes, the giant wolf's corpse had been skinned and dismembered, and they methodically brought out the black bags prepared beforehand.
Blue patterns were woven across their surfaces, and wisps of cold air drifted out when the bag openings were unsealed.
The surrounding students complained in low voices.
"The first defensive Fortress Guard post is ten kilometers outside the city, with City Patrol Guards patrolling in between. That Glutton Wolf was only a first-tier mutant. There's no way it could have broken through all those defenses."
"This was definitely deliberate. They're just trying to scare us."
The guy speaking pushed up his glasses, which bore a distinct crack. His analysis was coherent and convincing, but it only drew a burst of laughter.
"Anyone can talk big after the fact. Who was it just now that nearly buried his head in the ground?"
The bespectacled young man flushed red as he explained, "What do you know? Glutton Wolves rely on their sense of smell. I was masking my scent."
Everyone burst into laughter. After this sudden incident, their relationship had grown considerably friendlier. Mainly because they had realized they were all equally pathetic; no one was any better than anyone else.
"No one who's gone outside the city ever mentioned mutants suddenly popping out to scare people. Is the secrecy really that tight?"
Once everything had been packed up, the group set out again. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened afterward.
Time passed. The gray-white mist gradually darkened toward black, and visibility grew lower and lower until they could barely see two or three people ahead or behind them.
"Stop!"
Hu Xiang's deep, powerful voice still pierced through the fog and reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Prepare to make camp," he shouted in a low voice. The students, who had been holding their breaths in tense concentration, could not help but relax.
The City Patrol Guards were already moving. They pulled out white crystal pillars from their backpacks and arranged them in a hexagon around the entire group.
Then, at another command, they twisted the knobs at the base.
Buzz—
White light, like flowing tassels, coursed through the crystal pillars before linking them together and forming a milky-white energy shield that covered the entire group. The mist inside the shield gradually dispersed.
"So this is a Camp Pillar. It's my first time seeing how one deploys..."
The students discussed it in quiet voices, feeling as though knowledge from their textbooks had come to life.
The energy shield gradually expanded, eventually creating a fairly spacious area. Small tents were quickly set up one after another.
In the central area, the City Patrol Guards responsible for logistics had already set up metal stoves. They took out small crimson crystal blocks and drew flames from them, then put the beast meat they had skinned earlier over the fire. Fat sizzled and crackled.
After walking for most of the day with their minds constantly on high alert, everyone had expended a great deal of energy and was already ravenous. Now that they smelled the aroma, their eyes practically lit up.
"This is quite nourishing for people like you." Hu Xiang took out a black iron dagger, cut off a piece of roasted meat, and casually tossed it to Zhou Zong.
"Thank you, Captain..." Zhou Zong secretly felt pleased, though he remained humble on the surface.
The others curled their lips inwardly, filled with envy and jealousy.
Hu Xiang acted as though he had not heard them. He cut off another piece, considered for a moment, then tossed it out casually under everyone's watchful eyes.
Su Chen unexpectedly caught a large chunk of roasted meat. The others looked at one another in confusion, all rather stunned.
No one found it strange that Hu Xiang had deliberately taken care of Zhou Zong. After all, Zhou Zong's father was an important figure in the city.
But what made Su Chen worthy of Hu Xiang's special regard?
When the Glutton Wolf attacked earlier, this guy had blatantly hidden behind Bai Fengxi. He seemed like quite a coward.
Hu Xiang noticed the looks exchanged among the students and could not help sighing inwardly. This was the kid's last meal. Letting him eat comfortably would ease Hu Xiang's guilt somewhat.
Hu Xiang cut off another piece and stuffed it into his own mouth. The others also took the meat handed over by the City Patrol Guards and began eating.
"This tastes pretty good..." Su Chen had only taken one bite when he found the meat tender and delicious. More than that, his body gradually began to feel warm.
"Why does this feel almost the same as drinking a Blood-Activating Potion..."
After taking two more bites, Su Chen noticed the changes in his body and could not help thinking.
"Could the ingredients for Blood-Activating Potions be these mutants? No wonder those City Patrol Guards didn't even leave the bones behind. They probably have value too..."
Once he realized the benefits, Su Chen naturally did not hold back. He began wolfing it down, constantly stuffing meat into his mouth. Grease covered his hands, and his uninhibited eating manner drew quite a few sidelong glances.
"This brother is really... unrestrained..." someone remarked.
"Liu Liang, we're classmates. How can you talk like that?" Zhou Zong said with feigned displeasure. "Although Su Chen is a drifter, everyone has different table manners. There's no need to mock him."
Liu Liang looked utterly confused. Who was mocking him? Hadn't he merely made a remark?
Wait... a drifter?
"A drifter?" Shen Ying'er looked over in surprise. "He's a drifter? How could Teacher Jiang He have taken an interest in..."
"You didn't know?" Zhou Zong looked surprised, as if he had not expected it.
Su Chen raised his head and glanced at him. If a student died outside the city, it seemed a very detailed investigation report would be required.
He kept stuffing food into his mouth, looking entirely focused on eating. For a moment, the atmosphere became rather strange.
Everyone could tell that Zhou Zong was targeting Su Chen, but no one said anything. Still, most of the students present did not have any particular reaction to Su Chen's identity as a drifter.
They were not from wealthy city families. Their circumstances were neither especially good nor especially bad, so they would not look down on drifters. They were more surprised than anything else.
Only a small number of them looked at Su Chen with a sense of distance.
When Zhou Zong realized Su Chen was ignoring him, he grew even more irritated. Because of his father's warning, he had restrained himself ever since leaving the city. Now that he had finally taken the opportunity to suppress Su Chen, it felt like punching cotton.
"Enough. Now we'll assign the night watch." Hu Xiang cut off the possible argument and stood up. "The City Patrol Guards will be primarily responsible for the watch, with one student assigned alongside each of them. You'll rotate in three shifts."
This was an important part of the field experience, so the students were not surprised. They had heard about it before.
The arrangements were quickly made. There were three shifts, fifteen people in each. They would keep watch fifty to one hundred meters outside the camp, supporting one another.
Su Chen was assigned to the first shift.
"...Your first priority is preventing danger. Even if your companion dies right in front of you, do not interfere..."
The person partnered with Su Chen was an old soldier who told Su Chen to call him "Old Zhao." His hair at the temples had already turned white, and he calmly instructed Su Chen on the precautions he needed to take.
Everyone else had gone back to rest, while they stepped outside the barrier and scattered toward their watch positions.
The mist began flowing faster, while the wind wailed mournfully.
Within the Night Mist, the firefly lamp on Old Zhao's back could only illuminate one or two meters. Beyond that was complete darkness.
"This should be about right..." Old Zhao used a positioning device marked with a string of numbers to fix their location. He glanced at Su Chen and asked curiously, "Are you really a drifter?"
"Yeah." Su Chen admitted it openly.
"Impressive..." Old Zhao sighed, feeling a degree of admiration. Remembering what had happened during the day, he could not help saying, "That Zhou Zong seems to be targeting you because of that Jiang He. It wasn't easy for you to get into the academy. Endure it, and it'll pass."
"Jiang He?" Su Chen paused. "You mean Bai Fengxi?"
These City Patrol Guards were quite disciplined and had not deliberately asked about the students' affairs along the way. They had only overheard a few things while the meat was being distributed that afternoon.
Old Zhao had probably heard the unfinished half of Shen Ying'er's sentence and mistaken Bai Fengxi for Jiang He.
"That girl is called Bai Fengxi?" Old Zhao asked in confusion. "Then that other... distinctive-looking girl said, how could Jiang He have taken an interest in you..."
"Jiang He is a teacher at the academy," Su Chen explained.
"A teacher?" Old Zhao froze, seemingly realizing something. The look in his eyes as he regarded Su Chen changed several times.
"Yes, she was the one who brought me into the academy." Seeing the old man hesitate, Su Chen explained helplessly.
Old Zhao held it in for a long time, then remembered his earlier instructions and finally spat out two words. "Impressive..."
Su Chen smiled but said nothing.
Keeping watch was quite boring. The two of them had opened up a conversation, chatting intermittently.
At the same time, another glow of firefly light moved through the darkness.
"...The City Patrol Guard camp should be somewhere ahead..." One of them was thin and also carried a positioning device. He compared their direction and said, "According to the information, that guy will be assigned to keep watch at the southeastern corner of the camp."
"At ten tonight, he'll be the only one there. We need to take him away within three minutes."
"Damn, nighttime is really creepy..." The other man was quite fat, his features squeezed together as he complained, "He's just a drifter, yet it takes both of us to make a move and suffer through this crap."
The man holding the positioning device frowned and snapped, "Enough. This guy is connected to the deaths of Old Ghost and Da Zhuang. We need to make absolutely sure."
"It's eight now. We still have two hours. Don't get too close and alert those City Patrol Guards."
"...You mean ruins?" Old Zhao spoke with a wistful expression. "Those things seem to have been left behind from a very, very long time ago. There are plenty of good things inside—weapons, materials, technology, even information on professions. Almost all of it was excavated from ruins..."
"But they're also dangerous. Six or seven years ago, I was temporarily assigned to a newly excavated ruin. You wouldn't believe it—it was the corpse of a colossal beast larger than a mountain. Every mutant inside had the strength of a professional..."
Su Chen listened carefully, gathering more information.
Suddenly, the positioning device in Old Zhao's hand began trembling in a peculiar rhythm.
His expression shifted slightly. His brows drew together, and he fell silent. Only after a moment did he speak. "Su Chen, something seems to be happening. I'll go take a look..."
"If I'm not back in three minutes, go report it."
"I'm not coming with you?" Su Chen could not help asking.
"Follow orders." Old Zhao spoke gravely without explaining further. He left the lamp with Su Chen and carefully slipped into the darkness alone.
Not long after.
"Old Zhao..." A voice suddenly sounded in front of him. Old Zhao jumped, then looked carefully and exchanged the coded signal before finally relaxing. "Captain, why are you here?"
Hu Xiang's expression was complicated, and he did not answer. Old Zhao did not think much of it and turned to leave. "I'll head back first. I don't want Su Chen to panic and alert the camp later."
"Su Chen is already dead..." Hu Xiang said helplessly.
"Dead... dead?" Old Zhao stopped in his tracks and turned back in shock. He asked nervously, "What happened? What was it?"
He had thought it was something lurking in the darkness, but Hu Xiang remained silent for a long time. Only then did he realize, and his eyes widened. "Captain, was it you?"
Hu Xiang drew a deep breath and shook his head. "It was the Mist Nightmare. You resisted with all your strength but were powerless to stop it. I arrived too late and could only save you. Understand?"
"Captain... how could you..." Old Zhao's expression changed, and indescribable disappointment appeared in his eyes. In the end, he could only say dejectedly, "I understand."
Su Chen looked into the darkness in the distance. After hesitating briefly, he decided that since it was his first time outside, he should follow the rules. He was only a first-tier professional, after all.
But a moment later, Su Chen suddenly turned his gaze toward a certain direction, his eyes immediately becoming uncertain.
Within his vague spiritual perception, two people were sneaking toward him.
His perception range had been suppressed to only three or four meters. That practically meant they were already right in front of him.
"Why did two people suddenly appear?" Su Chen's heart tightened as his vigilance rose to the utmost.
In his perception, the two men actually split apart to approach from both sides, forming a pincer movement.
"They're coming for me?" A chill flashed through Su Chen's eyes.
Who had sent them? Zhou Zong? Qi Chuan? Or... Jiang He?
Before you continue